Apple Tarte Tatin Recipe - Upside Down Caramel Apple Tart

Apple Tarte Tatin is basically an upside down caramel apple pie. It is a classic French recipe which originated in the 1800's from two sisters (The Tatin sisters) who owned a hotel and by chance made this upside down apple pie due to a mistake. A fun story to read. Anyway, I think this recipe really works best if you make your own short crust pastry dough from scratch., which is easy to do, but does require that you make it in advance. BUT... you can always use store bought puff pastry if you want to save some time.

In the video I make a small tarte for one, using a 5 inch oven proof skillet - but you can make a bigger tarte using a 10 to 12 inch cast iron skillet or round baking pan as well. I will give you the amounts for both below!

For the short crust pasty - the amount below is enough for one larger tarte or 3 to 4 smaller tarts.

Pastry dough (you can make in food processor, stand mixer or by hand.)

250 grams - all purpose flour
1 pinch of salt (optional)
125 grams unsalted butter cut into cubes - cold or slightly room temp is fine - but not soft butter!
25 grams - regular sugar
1/4 cup water
(follow directions in video for making pastry dough)

Once pastry dough is done, wrap in cling wrap and place in refrigerator for at least 2 hours or longer. If you plan on storing for more than 2 days - then place in the freezer. I actually got excellent results from my pastry dough by placing in the freezer over night then thawing at room temp before rolling the next day. There is something about the freezer that makes the pastry dough extra light and flakey!

Use all dough if you plan on making a large tart - or cut into thirds if you plan to make a small 5 inch tart.

Roll dough on lightly floured surface to desired thickness (1/8" thick is about right for a smaller tart -and you can go thicker for a larger tart.)

Tarte Tatin Filling

For one 5 inch tart - all you need is one apple. You can also use other fruits - which I show you at the end of the video!

For a large tarte (10 to 12 inches) you will need about 4 apples.
Peel and core apples, then slice into about 1/2 inch thick slices - thicker is better than thinner slices for this recipe.

Use whatever apple you prefer - but please note that different apples will yield different results. My preferred apple for this recipe is the granny smith apple!

You can squeeze some lemon juice on the apples after cutting and this will prevent them from turning brown while you work on the caramel sauce.

I also added a little bit of sugar and cinnamon to my apples - this step is optional.

Caramel Sauce
In the pan that you will bake tarte in - over medium heat - add 2 TBS sugar. plus 2 TBS. unsalted butter.

If you are making a large tarte you will need about 100 grams of sugar and about 60 grams of butter.

As the sugar melts in the pan and begins to turn golden brown, add the butter and stir frequently to avoid burning. It can be very easy to burn caramel sauce - also PLEASE BE CAREFUL! Caramel sauce is extremely hot and you can easily burn yourself - never ever put hot caramel in your mouth!

Once caramel is done, arrange apples slices in the pan.

Cover pan with pastry dough and tuck the dough in under the edges of pan.
Poke some holes on top to allow steam to escape.
Bake in a pre heated oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about 20 to 25 minutes - or until top crust is golden brown.

Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before inverting onto a plate. ( 30 minutes is a good time to let it cool before flipping)

Serve as is - or add some ice cream or fresh whipped cream on top and enjoy!

Hope you guys give this super tasty recipe a try!

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Happy baking!

Kristina - Super Tasty Bites